It’s election season again and things are heating up. In our state, the race to lead the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is shaping up to be a tight one. A panel of AWSP staff and members from across the state interviewed the three leading candidates earlier this year. After the interviews, the panel selected Chris Reykdal as the best candidate for state superintendent.

Four Heroes Elementary School in the Clover Park School District is a Kids at Hope school. What does that mean exactly? Watch the video to find out what it means to assume kids are at hope instead of at risk. The video affirms the power of hope and the words we use to describe ourselves.

They’re baaaaaack. We featured a story on the WatchD.O.G.S. program in the Fall 2016 issue of ﻿Washington Principal﻿ magazine. This is a really cool program designed to get more dads volunteering in schools. It’s really incredible the number of AWSP Leadership Framework criteria this program touches. Read the full post.

Not too long ago, we partnered with OSPI to survey our members about the substitute teacher shortage. Over 700 principals responded to the survey. We learned what we had long suspected and heard anecdotally: the shortage of substitute teachers is placing a strain on schools. In fact, almost all school leaders describe their substitute hiring situation as either a struggle or a crisis. This is true for urban, suburban, and rural schools across every region of the state. Survey data shows, however, that the substitute teacher shortage is even more pronounced in the most impoverished schools. Read the full post.

For the first time, we've opened up the nomination process for Principal of the Year. In the past, only fellow principals could nominate each other, but now teachers, school personnel, central office, superintendents, parents, and community leaders can nominate a deserving principal to be Principal of the Year. Read the full post.

Clint Williams is the Washington State 2016 Assistant Principal of the Year. The award is bestowed by the Association of Washington Middle Level Principals (AWMLP), a governing board of the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP). The honor alternates yearly between a middle level principal and a high school principal. This year it’s the middle level’s turn. Read or download (PDF) the press release.

I woke up this morning so bummed to realize that my dream last night was not real. I have been trying unsuccessfully to land an interview with Pete Carroll about how his own leadership as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks might fit into the AWSP Leadership Framework. Last night in my dream, we finally connected! We were at the V-Mac on Lake Washington in the middle of the cavernous indoor field, right after a pre-season practice as players were heading to the locker room. The conversation was fantastic and went something like this… Read the full post.